Born in Osaka (1971), after completing the postgraduate course at the Graduate School of Engineering at Kyoto University in 1997, Hirata was employed from 1997-2005 at Toyo Ito & Associates, Architects. Under Ito, Hirata worked on projects including the Sendai Mediatheque (execution design), Miyagi; Aluminum House in Sakurajosui, Tokyo; “Forum for Music, Dance and Visual Culture”, Gent and TOD’S Omotesando Building, Tokyo. In 2005, Hiratata established Akihisa Hirata Architecture Office in Tokyo.